CGD Europe Asks: Who Should Be the EBRD's Next President?

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will appoint its next president in ten days, after months of deliberation. Many in the international development community are pushing for the process to be open, transparent and merit-based--a rallying cry you'll recall from the recent World Bank presidential selection process. On behalf of CGD Europe, We've invited each of the five EBRD presidential candidates to join me for podcast interviews on their vision for the bank's future.It matters a lot who runs the international institutions and how they are selected. The EBRD, originally founded in 1991 to help former Eastern European communist countries transition to market economies, now provides project financing for banks, industries and businesses. The EBRD is owned by 63 governments, the European Union and the European Investment Bank. The EU ministers have so far failed to reach consensus over the presidency. Consequently, the 65 EBRD governors will make the final decision at the annual gathering on May 18 and 19.Following the example of CGD's public events with the World Bank presidential candidates, I'm delighted that CGD Europe will be able to provide a similar look into the EBRD presidential candidates' views over the coming weeks. The candidates are (in alphabetical order): Jan Krzysztof Bielecki (former Prime Minister of Poland), Suma Chakrabarti (senior civil servant from Britain), Bozidar Djelic (former deputy prime minister from Serbia), Philippe de Fontaine Vive Curtaz (deputy head of the European Investment Bank, from France), and Thomas Mirow (the current president of the EBRD from Germany who is seeking a further term).All five candidates have been invited to participate; four have already agreed. I'll ask them what difference they would make as EBRD president and how they would shape the bank's future. The interviews will be published as a Development Drums special podcast so the candidates' views can be heard and debated by many in the run-up to the final selection later this month.